


Champion

by anonymousComrade



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-03-01
Updated: 2011-03-01
Packaged: 2017-10-16 00:51:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 744
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/166684
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anonymousComrade/pseuds/anonymousComrade
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A possible tale of Karkat's ancestor. Probably a one-shot.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Champion

Your name is KARKINOS HISTRELIN, and you are in grave danger.

Three sweeps ago, you began your rise through the ranks of the Alternian army, becoming a high-ranking threshecutioner. Your valor in battle earned you many medals, most of which had never been awarded to a greenblood such as yourself. All them have been stripped from you this day. Your supply of the experimental blood color-altering drug Chromomine was cut off over a week ago, forcing you to do without, and what would have been a minor accident in a routine training exercise revealed your worst fear: the Chromomine has worn off.

You were not the only one to notice.

Your superiors were notified and you were immediately thrown in the brig, stripped of command, and held for three days without food as the investigation into how the entire chain of command could be fooled by a lone gutterblood continued.

Fifteen minutes ago, three guards opened the door of your cell, shackled you, and began leading you to the Empress so that she may have the pleasure of culling this filth herself. Your face remains locked in a defiant scowl, but it is false bravado. You have seen bloody combat first-hand; your own comrades falling beside you; entire Alternian battleships devastated by enemy fleets. But you have never been so scared in your entire life.

The elevator has stopped moving. The door opens with a quick SHOOSH. The Empress sits on her throne at the far end of the room, 2x3dent in hand. The guards lead you, bound by iron, to a spot directly in front of the throne.

She regards you with disdain. "Karkinos )(istrelin. Did you _really_ t)(ink you could continue to )(ide the color of your blood from us?"

The Empress points her weapon at you. "W)(y )(ave you disgraced us so? Speak!"

You think for a moment. What was the reason behind your transgression? "I ONLY WISHED TO SERVE, IN ORDER TO FURTHER THE GLORY OF ALTERNIA, MY EMPRESS."  
"We )(ave no need of t)(e services of one wit)( suc)( corrosive _sludge_ flowing in )(is veins, nor one w)(o would continue to )(ide his color from us. Yes, )(istrelin, we knew about the drug. T)(at you made suc)( a mockery of the )(igh command is inexcusable."  
She raises the fork above her head. "T)(e )(emospectrum is the basis of law and order in our society. Wit)(out it, t)(ere can only be c)(aos. Karkinos )(istrelin. As punis)(ment for your crimes against the )(emospectrum, I will cull you myself, and all records of your service will be purged."

She motions to one of the guards. "You t)(ere. Cut )(is palm, so t)(at I may be)(old wit)( my own eyes w)(at s)(ade of maroon t)(is, t)(is _beast_ bleeds."

The guard draws his sickle and runs the tip against the palm of your right hand. It is painful, but even now, you must not show weakness. You suppress the urge to wince.

"Prisoner! S)(ow me the cut!"

You present your open palm to the Empress... and she gasps, shocked at the revelation.

"You... you FOOLS! Do you KNOW what you )(ave ALMOST DON---------------------E?!"

The guards are speechless. They are not sure what they did to incur the Empress's wrath. You turn your hand to look at the cut yourself. Bright red. It is the true color of your blood, and is not even _on_ the hemospectrum. Your blood is lower that even the deepest reds of maroonbloods. You are not simply the lowest rung on the ladder; your very _existence_ is an affront to nature itself.

She slowly steps down the stairs leading to her throne to get a closer look. "My eyes do not deceive me, t)(en."

What happens next surprises even you. You have seen grown men weep in combat, you have seen troll cities and nations leveled in a day, you have witnessed entire planets bombarded and star systems conquered in the worst blow against Alternia in recorded history.

You have _never_ witnessed the Empress of Alternia bow to another. The guards are as unsure of what to do as you are.

A moment of silence, and the Empress speaks.

")(ave you forgotten the writings of the blind prop)(ets?! Kneel, you fools! For you are in the presence of the C)(ampion of Alternia, and )(e will save us all."

**Author's Note:**

> I hope the hints that this was a period of Alternia getting its ass handed to it got through
> 
> I guess the idea came to me when I realized that most fics about Karkat's ancestor ended with him being culled for being a dangerous rebel, or a mutant, or a dangerous mutant rebel, and that hey, I haven't seen anyone write about the possibility that maybe Karkat's ancestor ended up being a goddamned _hero_
> 
> But was he actually a hero and his blood color just covered up by history, or did he fuck up so spectacularly that bright red blood would be considered an abomination? _No one knoooooows_
> 
> Also yeah I totally stole Chromomine from The Future and What Comes After


End file.
